Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-12-16
MR. BL1INE TANKS


! Presidents s message and have been cspe
cinlly Interested in the comments Of the
London papers. Those papers all assume to
declare the message is free trade manifes
to and evidently are anticipating an en-
larged market for English fabrics in the
! United States as a consequence Of the Pres
ident's recommendations. Perhaps that fact
stamped the character Of the message more
clearly than any words Of mine can"
"You don't mean actual free trade with
out duty I" queried the reporter
| "No,n replied Mr. Blaine "Nor do the
| London papers mean that. They simply
mean that the President has recommended
what in the United States is known as a
revenue tariff, rejecting the protective
feature as an object and not even permit
ting protection TO result freely an Incl
dent to revenue duties lie recommends
that the tax on tobacco be retained, and
| thus that many millions annually shall be
| levied on domestic product which would
far better come from a tariff on foreign
| fabrics
REPEAL THE TOBACCO TAX.
Then do YOU mean To imply that YOU
would favor the repeal of the tobacco tax g
Certainly ! mean Just that, said Mr.
once even before the Christmas holidays
| 1t would in the first place bring great re
! lief to growers of tobacco all over the
country. and would moreover. materially
| lessen the price of the article to consumers
| Tobacco to millions of men is a necessity.
| The President calls il luxury, but it is "a
/ luxury in no other sense than tea and cof
fee are Injuries. It is well TO remember
that the luxury Of Yesterday becomes ne
cessty of today Watch. if YOU please.
| the number of men at work on the farm
/ in the coal mine, along the railroad, in the
iron foundry, or i'll any calling, and you
will find % in 100 chewing while they
work After each meal the same proper
tion seek the solace Of a pipe or cigar.
| These men not only pay the millions of the
tobacco tax, but pay ON every plug and ev
cry cigar an enhanced price which the tax
enables the manufacturer and retailer to
impose The only excuse for such tax Is
| the actual necessity under which the gov
eminent found itself during the war, and
| the years Immediately following. To re
! tain the tax now in order to destroy the
| protection which would incidentally flow
| from raising the same amount Of money on
| foreign imports, is certainly "a most extra
| ordinary policy for our government.
THE wHIsKEY TAX SHOULD BE RETAINED.
Well then. Mr. Blaine. would YOU ad-
wise the repeal Of the whiskey tax also q
NO. ! would not. Other considerations
| than those of financial administration are to
be taken into account with regard to whis
kew. There is a moral side to it, To
cheaper the price of whiskey is to increase
its consumption enormously. There would
be no sense in urging the reform wrought
| by high license in many states if the ma
tional government neutralzes the good eff
feet by making whskey within the reach
of every one at 90 cents gallon. Whlskey
would he everywhere distilled if the sur
veiance of the government were with
drawn by the remission of the tax, and il
licit sales could not then he prevented even
by policy as rigorous and searching as
that with which Russia pursueS the Mill
lists. 1t would destroy high license at once
in all the states"
wHIsKEY SHOULD PAY FOR COAST DEFENCES.
"Whiskey has done IA vast deal of harm
in the United States. | would try to make it
do some good | would use the tax to for
tifv our cities on the seaboard. I'm view Of
the powerful letter addressed To the Dem
ocratic party on the subject Of fortiica
tions by the late Mr.. Samuel j. Tilden, in
| 1885, | am amazed that no attention has
been paid to the subject by the Democratic
administration. Never before in the histo
ry Of the world has any government allow
ed great cities on the seaboard, like Phila
delphia, New York, Boston, Baltimore, New
Orleans and San Francisco 10 remain de
fenceless.
But said the reporter, ''you don't
think we are to have war in any direction =
Certainly not, said Mr. Blaine. "Nei-
ther, presume, did Mr.. Tilden when he
| l i L l. L
change a remote chance into an absolute
impossibiltv If our weak and exposed
points were strongly fortified if today we
had by any chance even such war rs we
had with Mexico, our enemy could procure
ironclads in Europe that would menace our
great cities with destruction or lay them
under contribution.
But after the Notifications should be
constructed would you still maintain the tax
ON whskey =
Yes, said Mr. Blaine, so long as there
is whiskey to tax | would tax it, and when
the national government should have no
use for the money ! would divide the tax
among the Federal Union with the specific
object of tightening the tax on real estate.
The houses and farms Of the whole coun
try pay too large proportion of the total
taxes. If ultimately relief could be given
|
be a wise and benefcent policy. Some hon
est but misguided friends of temperance
have urged that the government should not
use the money derived from the tax ON
whiskey. Nv reply is that the tax on whis-
KEY by the Federal government with its
suppression of all illicit distillation and con
sequent enhancement of price has been a
powerful agent in the temperance reform
by putting it beyond the reach of so many.
The amount of whiskey consumed in the
United States per capita today is not more
than 40 per cent of that consumed thirty
years ago.
Mr.. Blaine added that in his Judgment
the whiskey tax should be SO modified as TO
permit all who use pure alcohol IN the arts
or in mechanical pursuits TO have 1t free OF
tax. In all such cases the tax could be re
mitted without danger of fraud, just as
now the tax on spirits exported is remitted,
Besides your general and sweeping op-
position to the Presidents recommendation
have you any further specific objection =
wooL-GRowERs MUST BE PROTECTED.
eyes" answered Mr.. Blaine Il should
seriously object to the repeal of the duty
on wool, To repeal that would work great
injustice to many interests and would seri-
ously discourage what we should earnestly
]
among farmers throughout the Union. To
break down wool-growing and he depend
ent on foreign countries for the blanket un-
der which we sleep and the coat that coy
ers our backs is not wise policy for the
national government to enforce.
"Do you think if the Presidents recon-
mendation were adopted it would increase
our export trade =
Possibly in some few articles of peculiar
construction it might, but it would increase
our import trade ten fold as much in the
great staple fabrics, in WOODEN and cotton
goods, in iron, in steel, in all the thousand
and one shapes in which they are wrought.
How are we To export staple fabrics to the
markets of Europe unless we make them
cheaper than they do in Europe, and how
are we to manufacture them cheaper than
they do in Europe unless we get cheaper
labor than they have in Europe ~
THE LABOR QUEsTIoN-lTs VITAL IMPORT
ANCE
''Then YOU think that the question Of Ia
Dor underlies the whole subject ~ "Oi
course it does, replied Mr., Blaine. 1T is,
in fact, the entire question. Whenever we
can force carpenters, masOns, ironworkers
and mechanics in every department Ia
work as cheaply and live as poorly in the
United States as similar workmen in Eu-
rope, we can, of course, manufacture
Just as cheaply as they do in England and
France But am totally opposed to a pol
icy that would entail such results To at
tempt it is equivalent To a social and tinan
cial revolution one that would bring un-
told distress
eyes, but might not the great farming
class be benefited by importing articles
from Europe instead of buying then at
higher prices at home y
''The moment answered Mr.. Blaine
"you begin to import freely from Europe